Mets Trade For Santana

USA Today is reporting a four-for-one swap, as the Mets will send Phillip Humber, Carlos Gomez, Kevin Mulvey and Deoils Guerra to the Mets for the All-World left-hander.

More on this to come, but a few knee-jerk quick thoughts:

1. The Mets stole this one. They didn’t have to give up their No. 1 prospect.
2. The Mets are suddenly the favorite to win both the East and the NL.
3. We’re in trouble.

UPDATE (9:00 p.m.): The deal isn’t quite official yet, as the Mets have a little less than two days to reach a long-term (six or seven years) agreement with Santana. Considering the work the Mets have put into the deal, I’d have to think the agreement will be finalized and Santana will don No. 57 for the New York orange and blue.

Santana’s a few solid years away from a Hall of Fame enshrinement. His entire career in the Majors has been spent in Minnesota, where he’s been the most dominant pitcher of the last five years.

What Phillies fans need to know off the bat:

1. Johan Santana has pitched in the American League. Now he comes over here. Crap.
His career numbers against the NL: 182.7 IP / 16-4 / 2.27 ERA / 191 K / 46 BB
Of course, he’ll be facing many young and poor offenses, and often (Washington, Florida, Pittsburgh, Houston, Saint Louis). Other teams are filled with players who haven’t seen him much (Phillies, Atlanta, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago, Milwaukee). Simply put, at least in 2008, Santana could demolish the National League for 25 wins.

2. Santana is a lefty. He punishes lefties.
His career numbers against lefties: 1192 PA / .223 AVG / .283 OBP / .371 SLG / 289 K / 84 BB
Before anyone makes the joke that the line resembles Pedro Feliz’ career line, I have to admit, righties actually hit worse against him. Seriously. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Geoff Jenkins will struggle, no doubt. And, well, Feliz, Pat Burrell and Carlos Ruiz will likely struggle too. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino will just have to guess which side will be best.

3. Santana is durable.
Since 2005, Santana has only once pitched less than five innings in an outing, and that was his last start in 2007, when the Twins were way out of the playoff race. He’ll go six and seven without any problems, and at the very least, he’ll keep his team well in the game as the late innings approach. If the Mets offense gets the clutch monkey off their back, it could be smooth sailing for Santana.

4. There is a chance.
Santana’s not a fly ball pitcher or ground ball pitcher; in fact, he tends to give up more flies than grounders for his career. At least in Citizens Bank Park, there’s a chance of jumping on him with the longball. Of course, that’s if the Phils can lay off him. What Santana is … is a strikeout pitcher. And the Phillies have a slew of free swingers.

This has the possibility of ending up like the A-Rod deal for the Yankees. Just speculation, really. There’s been precedent with adding the best player in his league, then coming up short for years on end afterward. Is it a chemistry thing? Is it a karma thing? Is it a performance thing? I don’t know. Chances are Santana will gel right into that clubhouse and he and Pedro Martinez will make an unstoppable, 35-win duo in 2008. But then again, there is a chance that could all come to naught.

How do I feel about the deal, really?

Johan Santana will make the Mets better. As long as he’s healthy â€” absolutely. He could improve the team by 10 wins. If this Mets rotation stays healthy, or finds the pieces along the way (if injury were to strike other pitchers), they should win the East. As strong as the Phillies offense is, I can’t see the pitching overcoming what now looks to be a very even Mets club.

Now, if the Phillies can turn around and respond to this deal with pitching (Erik Bedard seems unlikely, but there’s something out there, right?), I could definitely say the Mets and Phillies are dead even. But at this moment, if Santana were to sign after a long-term deal is finalized, the Mets are the team to beat in the National League East.

0 Comments

they were favored to win the NL East last year, and that didn’t happen. So I’m still holding out hope that we can still carry momentum to the playoffs again and further into the playoffs. 2008 is the year Gillick said we’d make a run for it!

Sad that the Phillies were not even in the running. They did nothing to go after the best talent to fill their biggest hole and failed to prevent their chief rival from leapfrogging them in the process.

The Phils could never get Santana. They simply didn’t have enough to offer for him. Actually looking at what the Mets gave up maybe the Phils could have made a deal. What a swindle for the Mets. This might make up for Kazmir trade. Lets just hope the Phils lineup pounds him into submission. Let’s go Phils!!!!!!!!

I am a New Yorker, amd I apologize for the foolish comments made from this city. Let me say something intelligent. I am a Met fan, but realistically, Hamels’ 2007 was almost as good as Santana’s, and Hamels pitches in a hitter’s park. ‘Nuff said.

and whats up with all those phils fans thinkin they are cool, pretending to be the real johan, and making themselves look stupid degrading the best pitcher in major league baseball. they have no life. just suck it up and dwell in the corner crying, and think that brad lidge is your savior… when pujols coming to Citizen Bank Ballpark? better hope its late in the season or your season will seem even longer.

Wow you guys thought Ryan Howard had strikeout problems before. HAHAHA. There’s going to be a nice summer breeze from Philly this year. Dont worry though the E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles are still good! Oh wait they are a mess too. What a new year!

Hey wernt you guys favored last year? yuo still have that same coach that cant control his players. You pay a guy 25 mill to picth 30 times a year. You wont be able to get any big sighnings five years from now when he has a 5 era, and you dont have the money. REMEMBER WHOSE IS THE DEFENDING NL EAST CHAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and why havnt we heard from you all off season till now. Becuase you guys havnt done anything else. Remember its just one player

wow
before this mets did nothing this offseason but lost two good players, granted this is a great pick up but you guys really think you just going to roll by the phillies? i dont think so. our line up is better and your other pitchers are old as dirt, so it’s still going to be close.

Wow it sucks to be from Philadelphia. Yea, you guys won the division last year, but it took a monumental collapse from us..it’s still our division, we’re taking it back. You guys have done pretty much nothing this offseason, and we just added the best pitcher in baseball. We’re gonna be hungry this seaosn and out for revenge…GO GIANTS!!!

are you guys kidding me? you guys still have moyer right? i mean his ugly stirrups and low velocity are really quite intimidating. and saying us mets have no money. please we have a new stadium coming and we have more money than the awful phillies management has or will ever have. you guys have a wife beater as your number two and adam eaton and jd durbin suck my left nut. i forgot pedro feliz is the next NL MVP. Also, maine is way better than all of your starters besides hamels, but santana beats hamels slightly. our team may be older with pedro, el duque and wagner, but they are still quality pitchers and there ages combined are still less than that of moyer. I believe the mets have the best line up in baseball now especialy now you guys dont have rowand.lastly, your NL division run was short lived suck it up.

lets compare shall we? reyes vs. rollins: rollins is solid but did not deserve the mvp, reyes underachieved last season. id take reyes due to potential but it is a close one. castillo vs. utley: easy one, ultey. wright vs. feliz: hahahah deff wright. beltran vs victorino: this ones tricky, bc beltran has yet to provide a solid BA but has put up great power numbers. victorino is speedy, but edge to beltran’s 5 tool ability to victorino’s 4 tool. delgado vs. howard: career wise they may be similar but right now its deff howard. alou vs burrell, obviously alou bc burrell strikes out a lot and cant field, alou can hit for avg, power and can field. church vs. jenkins: two similar players, basically a tie, but edge to church due to upside. Schneider vs ruiz: both suck offensively and neither are good…. edge to ruiz due to upside and youth.

basicall its 5-3 mets…

rotation.

santana vs hamels: very close, very close… hamels has more upside and santana has the cy young pedigree… santana has slight edge. martinez vs myers: closer than you think but you go with age on this one, so its myers. maine vs kendrick: need i compare, although kendrick is promising? maine. perez vs moyer: easily perez. el duque/pelfrey vs, eaton/durbin: wow el duques is the best of the 4 and pelfrey has the most upside… but lets face it pelfrey sucks and will be a reliever, el duques lives on the DL, but durbin is ass also. eaton can be good at times but this is a tie.

what my comment states is that the mets are overall a better team. face it the phillies overachieved, and the only reason you guys won the divison was due to the mets’ monumental collapse. the mets beat themselves last year not by the phillies beating the mets.

Also, Mets fans need to stop with “the Mets collapse is the reason they lost.” Face this: If the Mets would’ve beaten the Phillies once more instead of going 13-5 (or whatever it was), there would’ve been no sulking on Sept. 30. It’s a marathon, and it takes two to tango.

the mets will beat themselves again and the phillies will continue to win. i can’t believe that mets fan said that he thinks reyes is better than the MVP. reyes chokes a lot, and rollins leads his team… and yes he deserved the MVP, and next utley will win MVP this year for a 3-peat.

i agree with nate, please how can you not take THE MVP, The only players i would take from the mut’s are wright and beltran any other position ill take the phillies. well except for pitching duuuu, i still think that Hamels might do better than santana so wee shall see

“Face this: If the Mets wouldâ€™ve beaten the Phillies once more instead of going 13-5 (or whatever it was), there wouldâ€™ve been no sulking on Sept. 30. Itâ€™s a marathon, and it takes two to tango.”

No, If the Mets would have won against the marlins and Nationals… u know what? Last yr dont matter. What matters is this:
Did the Mets players learn that they actually have to play the games ?, and who wants it more?
Both teams have similar lineups, slight edge to the Mets pitching. Now lets get ready for a great season of baseball. First one to 100 wins –wins

feel so bad for all the phillies fans that actually had hope when the mets floundered a 7 game lead with 2 weeks left and had the phillies thinking they were the greatest team and then got swept by the rockies HAHAHAHA can’t say anything but we now arguably have the best starting pitching in the NL. No way phillies will have even a prayer this year or the years coming. keep talking about cole hamels, he’s as good as john maine was last year and u guys swear he’s cy young. METS in 2008!!!!!! Peace bitches!

you guys need to calm down with Hamels, his 3.36 was ok but nothing spectacular, his era was similar to oliver perez HAHAHAH

PHILLIES 4.73 4th worst in the NL
METS 4.26 with pedro gone nearly all year, and starts by pelfrey and a bunch of call ups

you phillies fans can’t say shit, you guys have no chance and needed the biggest collapse in history to win the NL east. You guys act like you won it like we won it in 2006 (12 games). You guys were pathetic against the rockies en route to a rockies sweep. Calm down, you guys suck and after santana there is no comparison, we are clearly the best in the NL and don’t forget it HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA BITCHES I KNOW IT HURTS YOU GUYS SO BAD TO SEE THIS TRADE HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Wow, i am going out right away and get my World series tickets, so i can see those super Mets play…..NOT
If i were a Met fan, i would still be so embarrassed about last year that i would still be hiding behind my girlfriend.
The Phillies are the league champs. A good baseball fan should acknowledge their record over the last 30 games….it is such a shame that the Mets could not beat the Phillies last year.
Stay calm Met fans, it is only baseball….you are getting to worked up….Just look at your NY Yankees, they buy players every year and seem to get disappointed each year….Finally, i am guessing that most of the Mets fans that know baseball, would acknowledge Jimmy Rollins as the best SS in the NL….If not, i guess the Met fans know more about baseball than those who get paid to make these decisions.

Wow all you mets fans think just because you got Johan your rotation is amazing…. first off Pedro will prolly pitch maybe 10 games before he dies and maine is ok but he is not great and perez he is about as good as a bag of balls and i think el duque is older than moyer…. so basically to sum it up you have johan then a bunch of bums who the phils will prolly destroy and the only hope of you not getting swept is throwing johan out there…and i would take the phils lineup over the mets anyday of the week come on now half your players shoul be retired or in the minors church and schnieder are horrible and alou and delgado are to old good luck finishing in 2nd place looking up at the best team in the nl the fightin phils

I know that big number next to RS has deluded you into think your offense is all that. I hate to break it to you, but the Mets and Phillies were almost identical in terms of offense in 2007 when normalized for park effect. One simple stat will demonstrate this:

Phillies RS on the road: 442
Mets RS on the road: 437

There was a f-i-v-e run difference over 81 games last season. FIVE. That is the definition of statistically insignificant and and as easily attributed to random variation as anything else.

Comparing RS between the two teams, would be like comparing RA (NYM: 687 PHI 767), its a meaningless comparison because the Mets pitchers have the benefit of a pitchers park and the phillies pitchers play in a sandbox.

The problem with parks like Shea and CBP is that the visiting teams get the same run inflation or deflation as the home team, so it is not a real advantage.

So, in summary: Last season two teams with equivalent offenses sparred all season. In the end the collapse of the Mets bullpen which was itself a product of a weak “ace” gave the Phillies the edge. Congrats on being the last man standing.

However now the starting rotation is fixed with the effective addition of TWO true aces. The bullpen has been beefed by Sanchez And Ambrioszx (sp?), and our offenses remain equivalent.

People talk about heart. They talk about team chemistry. They are dumb. This is about the numbers. Learn to add.

Typical phillies fan talk-all balls no brains. No one on the Mets starting lineup last year, with the exception of Pelfrey had an era over 4.00

Oh, and bob ur team “prolly”wasnt the nl league champs, the rockies prolly were. after the mets choked, or ah, collapsed, the rockies swept the phillies. Doesnt that make the phillies the last nl east team to collapse?

This is not an “old” team. When delgado and alou are free agents next year, we will replace them with, fernando martinez in left (20 yrs old) or maybe Ryan Howard, if the phils are stupid enough not to sign him long term.

As far as jimmy rollins goes, let him talk, i would expect nothing less than him to say what he means, then back it up on the field.

Bring on the phillies, 1st game, 1st batter, jimmy rollins against johan santana. 1st pitch a high hard one, up and in knocks him ass over tea kettle.

The Mets are looking good. But they were also looking good last year before the year started. Gotta play the games.

Most pennant races come down to injuries. Most pitchers have a season-ending injury at least once in their career and it basically wipes them out for 1.5 seasons after the injury, and they’re rarely the same afterwards. Santana has been durable so far, but that just increases the chance he’s going to break down in the next couple of years.

Even given that probability, the Mets do have a really strong rotation. If Perez can limit the number of crazy 8-walk games, Maine learns to adjust to hitters, and Pedro can stay somewhat healthy, I’ve got to admit that they’re much stronger than the Phils rotation.

On offense, the Mets should be better than last year with the year round stability of Castilla hitting second. The question is whether or not Delgado is going to have a late career comeback and whether Alou can stay on the field.

However, it’s going to be a close race all year round, and you heard it here first that Washington could play the role of big time spoiler.

The Mets and Mets fans thought they had the NL east won sometime in the middle of August. Were in the end of January, Mets fans must have the memory of a gold fish after last year ended. You don’ t win a league on paper as both teams know.

All the pressure is on the Mets since they are the favorite (apprently), and everyone knows how well the Mets did with pressure at the end of last season.

Mr. JTMETS FAN i think you the retard here because ryan howard cannot beome a free agent until 2011 so maybe you should get your facts straight before you go trash tal;king oh and ya the mets ya biggest chock artists in history dude keep talking

Ryan Howard’s arbitration hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 20, the next-to-last day of the arbitration process, in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Philadelphia Daily News reported Friday.

Howard has asked for $10 million in 2008, while the Philadelphia Phillies have offered $7 million, the largest difference of any of the 48 players and teams who exchanged numbers this year.

With the imminent signing of Santana, it’s likely that Gillick will be quicker to cough up bigger dollars now. If he doesn’t, he runs the risk of leaving a bad taste with Ryan that could sour his long term prognosis with the Phils. And that could pave the way for JTMETS comment. Then again, a big guy like Howard could jsut be waiting to pull another Mo Vaughn/Bobby Bonilla and get fat dumb and happy after a long term deal is struck…

I give up guys. The mets are so good now.
I know we won the division last year but when it comes down to it, we each won the same amount of playoff games. We went through a period of sucking and choking in october just as bad as the mets did in september

Geez. The majority of the posts ive read thus far are from mets fan rubbing it in. I, too, am a mets fan, but am not here to rub it in. I usually don’t post much, but I feel obligated to. I apologize for the ignorance of some of the mets fans here. As it stands, nothing is official until tht pen hits the paper. With that being said, once it is official (i hope), I still believe the Phillies are the team to beat. Not going on paper or stats, but they are the defending NL east champions making them the team to beat, the same with the Mets going into the 2007 season. I’m excited for this trade because it will add more fuel to the fire of this “rivalry”. Should be a fun 2008 season.

Unreal how many doom and gloom-sayers there are out there. All this has done is to make it more fun to go. I’m sure Jimmy,, Pat, Utley, Howard and the others that systematically destroyed the Mets last year will have a grand time! I plan on it.

I am not here to rub it in. I will say this though. Your lineup scared me so much last year. Always wondered how we would get through the meat of that order. Victorino is a pain in the neck. Rollins is a terrific player. Ryan Howard is pretty smooth for a big man at first base and his bat is terrifying. Chase Utley is a great hitter. Having Johan Santana face to face that lineup makes me more confident…not cocky. We’ll see what happens. Long way to go until Opening Day. But this rivalry will grow.

I think a lot of you Mets fans are forgetting that theres still 162 games to be played. Yeah you got Santana on a steal but IMO the Mets have more problems than the phillies do. Don’t for get that Santana can only start every 5th day. After that Pedro is gonna have a harder time getting batters out throwing 85 mph. Jon Maine struggled at points in the second half last year and may have over acheived. After that El Duque and Oliver Perez arent any good at all. Our rotation doesnt have that big name stud but does have 4 guys i feel confident will be able to get us a win each night. You have a lot of issues in the bullpen. Wagner struggled a lot last year, particularly against the phils (Pat Burrell). And if you go offensively position by position the only mets i would take over phillies are Wright and Beltran.

Earlier this year J-Roll said the phils could win 100 games. Before this trade i saw the mets finishing 3rd now it looks like the the MVPs prediction will have to come true again.

I don’t even see where the debate is. The Phillies one the division by 1 game last year. The Mets just got the BEST pitcher in baseball, a guy who will easily win 15-22 games. The Mets haven’t lost anybody of importance from last year except for Glavine who they just replaced with SANTANA.

I’m sure though that Lidge will hand Phillie well, I’m sure he’s not a disaster waiting to happen.

Just face it Phillies fans….The Mets are clearly the favorites in the National League East and probably the National League all together.

I am a Mets fan, living in the Philly area (unfortunately i have to deal with Phillies fans). While I am very happy with the trade, it doesn’t seem right to automatically declare the Mets will win the division. ESPN has been doing it all day, pretty much. Johan is an amazing pitcher, and it will make the Mets’ rotation sooo much better. but I am sick and tired of Jimmy Rollins. I respect that he is a great player and MVP, but he is calling for 100 wins! 100 wins! I know he proved that the Phillies were the team to beat last season, but that was partly because the Mets demolished themselves. You have no idea what is going to happen in a 162 game season! He is being way too cocky. And by the way, the Phillies suck.

Jimmy Rollins said that they are capable of winning 100 games and thats their goal for the season, not that the phils are a lock to win 100 games.

Holy Johan:
I think your forgetting what happened last year. It wasnt as if the Phils and Mets were neck and neck all season and the Phils barely pulled it out. The Mets totally fell apart. When the starting pitching got it done the bullpen fell apart, when the bullpen held them down you couldnt score, when your offense got it done your pitching sucked. All the problems came out, and aside from Santana they havent done anything in the offseason to correct them. And the Mets did lose Lo Duca who was killer out of the two hole. Also dont forget…the phillies have an eight game win streak against the mets

Lo Duca wasn’t there 2 hole hitter, Castillo was. and lo duca was hardly killer last year with his 270 avg. and many nagging injuries. They also have Pedro for a full year who without the burden of carrying the staff could have a big year, not pedro ’99 but still good. The Mets do have holes but are clearly deeper in pitching now, even Maine and Perez both won 15 games last year at ages 25 and 26 respectively. The Phillies have way too much riding on Lidge, if he cannot handle East coast baseball the Phills are done. Moving Myers back to the bullpen would make your rotation Hamels and a bunch of nobodys. The balance of power has shifted, September collapse is a distant memory.

Not exactly like you made the best of your post season berth anywa., When was the last time the Phillies won a playoff game? nuff said.

Wow, can this really be happening? The Mets just aquired the best pitcher in baseball (at least 1 million times better than me) and now are way better than us. Lets face it, our team sucks ass, our management sticks and we clearly overahcieved last season. I wouldnt be surprised if the Nationals or Marlins finish ahead of us in the NL East standings in 2008.

Yo Phils management sucks my BBC. I mean im the best lefty hitter in baseball, and they cant even recognize that fact. Why cant they just SHOW ME THE MONEY, and get this shit over with. Anyways, I’m clearly terrified of facing Johan, and Chase recently told me the same thing, the New York Metropolitans are the best and we stand no chance when johan pitches against us, as he will clearly dominate in the NL.